Spicy Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This was supposed to be moo shu. Or my attempt at making moo shu. I always had moo shu when mom ordered Chinese when we lived in NY. You wrap the filling up in the little pancake and it was perfect comfort food. In fact, I really miss the abundance of good, small Chinese restaurants in the City. You don’t get that here in Cali. I think there is 1 Chinese restaurant neat me but they have sushi too so that’s confusing.

What I really miss is eating out of those little white cardboard box. It’s a lifestyle, a City lifestyle. You don’t get that here in Cali maybe if you went to China town..that’s another story). You just open up your box of lo mein, grab some chop sticks and that was dinner. There are small parts I miss about the City life.

Alas, my attempt at moo shu didn’t come out moo shu’ey enough. I started to follow a recipe and then said the H*** with it and just did my own thing. The chicken wasn’t as shredded like I remember and there was no cabbage in this recipe. Oh..and my attempt at being “healthy” and forgo-ing the best part of moo shu, no pancake. Next time, there will be pancake.

But…this did come out to be a darn good chicken lettuce wrap.  Joe was working late so I whipped up a few wraps for myself, added some extra sriracha and went to town with a cold beer. It was really darn…good.

Method:

1) Season chicken with salt and pepper and cut into small cubes and cook in an oiled pan until all cooked through. Reserve to a plate.

2) Soak dried shitake mushrooms in a bowl of hot water while you cook everything else. or about 15 minutes. Chop mushrooms when they are re hydrated.

3) In the same pan as the chicken, wipe out clean and scramble eggs. When done, reserve to a plate.

4) Wipe out the same pan again and drizzle with oil. Saute garlic and ginger for about a minute until it begins to caramelize. Add a plash of rice vinegar and stir through.

5) Add back the chicken, carrots, mushrooms and bamboo shoots and and stir all together for about 2 minutes so all the flavors blend.

6) Add back eggs and stir through.

7) Add soy sauce, sriracha and hoison and stir well.  Taste for seasoning.

8) When done, load up chicken mixture into crisp iceberg lettuce cups.

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Spicy Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Author: Samantha Ferraro

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts cut into small chunks
• 1 carrot peeled and chopped
• 1 small can bamboo shoots chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 in piece ginger peeled and shredded (using micro-plane)
• 2 eggs whisked
• 4-5 dried shitake mushrooms
• 1 Tb rice wine vinegar
• 3 Tb soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoison sauce
• 2 Tb sriracha optional
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil for drizzling Grape seed if have it

Instructions

• Season chicken with salt and pepper and cut into small cubes and cook in an oiled pan until all cooked through. Reserve to a plate.
• Soak dried shitake mushrooms in a bowl of hot water while you cook everything else. or about 15 minutes. Chop mushrooms when they are re hydrated.
• In the same pan as the chicken, wipe out clean and scramble eggs. When done, reserve to a plate.
• Wipe out the same pan again and drizzle with oil. Saute garlic and ginger for about a minute until it begins to caramelize. Add a plash of rice vinegar and stir through.
• Add back the chicken, carrots, mushrooms and bamboo shoots and and stir all together for about 2 minutes so all the flavors blend.
• Add back eggs and stir through.
• Add soy sauce, sriracha and hoison and stir well. Taste for seasoning.
• When done, load up chicken mixture into crisp iceberg lettuce cups.